KOTOR FORTS – IMPERIAL DREAMS HIDDEN BUT NOT COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN

Rotating Gruson turret formerly holding 120 mm mortars at Goražda fort - Kotor seen beyond to the right.
Rotating Gruson turret formerly holding 120 mm mortars at Goražda fort one of the Kotor forts – Kotor seen beyond to the right.

One of the true gems of the Mediterranean world is the little town of Kotor lying at the head of a ten-mile-long fjord system flanked by huge peaks rising over 4,000 feet above the waters.  Lying deep in its mountain fastness, Kotor positively exudes magic, even in the wake of ever-increasing numbers of tourists and development threatening to divest the enchantment.  Hidden amongst the cliffs and peaks the bays and fjords lie 83 forts around Cattaro erected during the 19th century by the military of the Austrian empire.  Their role, to both defend the Bocce di Cattaro – Bay of Kotor – from sea and land attack.

Continue reading

CRUISING INTO THE MAGIC OF BAYS OF KOTOR

Sunset over the Bays of Kotor - the mountain of Vrmac looms darkly in the middle.
Sunset over the Bays of Kotor – the mountain of Vrmac looms darkly in the middle.

In the past, I have not been a big fan of vacationing on huge cruise ships.  A few friends and I watched from the shore of Glacier Bay as cruise ship after cruise ship made their way up the large fjord.  We were happy experiencing the wilderness of one of the America’s most magnificent national parks on a more personal scale.  Just us and the grizzly bears.  Could the Bays of Kotor change that feeling?

Another time, I stayed at a hotel in Kusadsi for almost a week a few years ago.  Every day brought several behemoths to dock at the waterfront. Buses lined up for the inevitable bus pilgrimage to nearby Ephesus.  And then, at sunset, the giant ships would set sail into the sunset for their next day’s destination – Bodrum, Mykonos, Santorini, Istanbul. Again, I was happy to be staying behind.  This year, I bit the bullet joining a cruise taking in the Adriatic and western Mediterranean.  The cruise turned out very enjoyable.  The highlight, the slow entry into the wondrous fjord system making up the Bocche di Cattaro, known locally as the Boka Kotorska or simply, the Magic of Kotor.

Continue reading

GEORG VON TRAPP – PRELUDE TO THE SOUND OF MUSIC

Postcard showing SMS U6 commanded by Georg von Trapp from 1910 until 1913.

A recent trip took me to Kotor, Montenegro.  The city sits spectacularly ensconced amidst mountains and fjords, probably the most scenic port in the Mediterranean.  Kotor has seen its share of history over the centuries, but one relatively recent story gets overlooked by even more recent events leading to one of the most famous movies of all time, The Sound of Music.  Understated and often forgotten, here, the story of Georg Luther von Trapp, ace of Austro-Hungarian submariners from World War 1.  His career before falling back on family and music concerned the sea and the Bays of Kotor.

Continue reading